Pillar posts build the support for your blog much like pillars are used in building to hold up a structure. Pillar posts are quality informational posts that people will tell others about. This creates links back to your post as the word spreads.
Here are two types of posts that will work as pillar posts.
- Resource lists
- How to posts
One of my blog just discusses WordPress and blogging. Here are some sample resource lists I could use.
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10 must have WordPress plugins
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My 5 Favorite Themes and Why
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7 Ways To Generate More Visitors To Your Blog
As much as possible try to make these evergreen topics with in your niche. By evergreen I mean topics that will still be valuable 6 months, a year, two years or more from now.
Social media is an example of where a topic can change quickly. Right now the hot topic is Twitter, last year all you saw was Facebook information, before that everything was MySpace.
Now it may just be me but it has been a while since anyone has been pushing MySpace tools, tips and tricks but not a day goes by that I don’t see Twitter information. A Twitter pillar post can bring you good traffic right now but it may or may not be pulling visitors next year.
Compare that to a post I did on my blog about adding an Aweber form to your WordPress blog. It is a how to post with lots of screen captures and a step by step walk through. This post was done over a year ago and still draws good traffic each week.
As long as WordPress and Aweber stick around the odds are good that it will still be working and of value three years from now. That is an evergreen topic.
How to posts work best when you cover a common problem that people have. Here is an example from this week end when I wrote a post called “Improving Your Blogs Look“.
It covers how to change the default header or to add a new theme to a WordPress blog. It has lots of screen captures and walks the reader through the steps. It provides valuable information and should draw links from others pointing to it as a resource.
Adding a quality post like these examples for topics within your niche to your blog on a regular basis will help you build natural links and become a recommended resource. The key though, as with all things blogging, is to do your keyword research and find the terms that have traffic, are not super competitive and are commercially viable.
Pillar posts added regularly targeting these words will draw natural links and generate visitors for your blog.
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Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. Check out his upcoming class “How to Generate Traffic Drawing Keywords“.
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Another Great Post! Wow, your blog is awesome and has definitely convinced me to learn Word Press. Thanks for all the great info. and keep it coming. I’m install a blog on my site right now!
Chow,
Chad
Hey Chad,
Thanks man! Congrats on your new blog and I’m certainly excited that you’re finding exactly what you are looking for! Let me know if there is anything I can do for ya!
-Chris
Chris, thanks for the pillar post. It helps me to see how I can have repeat visitors to my blog by applying your ideas when writing my posts.
@Jeanette – You can thank my buddy Mike Paetzold for the tips, he’s my guest blogger on that piece!
-Chris
I cannot agree with you more. Creating real good content is very important, if you plan to be online for a long time. This is what I do. I find out what are the fundamental problems in my niche and write a good pillar post. These fundamental problems, as you mentioned, will be talked about for a long time. They will bring lots of traffic to your website. I know this for sure from my own experience.
One of my blogs, mostly has private label rights articles. However, I have three unique articles on these fundamental problems on the same blog. These articles bring more traffic to my blog and then the other articles combined. So, unique is the way to go.